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THE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
By 
Dr. S. O. lhemadu. 
Surveys Division, 
Fed. Min. of Works and Housing, 
Lagos, Nigeria. 
The less developed a region is, the greater and more urgent is its need for remote sensing 
applications, but, ironically, the less is its capability to embark upon such applications. — Dr. 
S. O. Ihemadu 
4. INTRODUCTION 
The term "remote sensing" as used in this paper includes the processes leading to the acquisi- 
tion of both aerial photographs and satellite ima gery. 
To the fortune of mankind, a combination of the uniqueness in the distribution of radiation 
emitted by, or reflected from, features and surfaces in nature with the tremendous developments 
in data aquisition and computer-aided analysis techniques has resulted in the derivation of 
subtle and diverse information regarding the physical (size, shapes, area, etc) and chemical 
properties of the features and surfaces in question. With the employment of the “Multi” concepts 
in the analysis techniques, the derivable information becomes greatiy diversified in nature (4). 
. Such information, no doubt, greatly enhances decision-making process, thereby facilitating the 
planning, initiation and full realisation of economic development projects, particularly those 
based on the exploitation of natural resources. 
Indeed, already as at 1980, over 110 Countries and 1,000 Organisations worldwide had beco- 
me active participants in remote sensing activities, while 20 of these Countries and Organisations 
had established Ground Receiving Stations (7). Following the launching of the first meteor ologi- 
cal Satellite in 1958, as many as 23 Satellites, entirely devoted to natural resources studies, have 
been manufactured and launched (8). Furthermore, 12 different sensors have been designed 
and used for this purpose, while the rate of daily data presentation from both land and meteorc- 
logical Satellites has grown to approximately 300 x 10? bits of information, including the daily 
outputs of 525 MSS and 360 TM Scenes from Landsats 4 and 5. 
However, this tremendous progress in the design, execution and utilisation of remote sensing 
techniques has been achieved virtually to the exclusion of Developing Countries. Consequently, 
this study attempts to provide an up-date of remote sensing applications in Developing Countries, 
discuss some of the major problems encountered by these Countries, consider their prospects and 
offer suggestions for ensuring a more effective utilisation of these techniques by Developing 
Countries. 
2 STATUS OF REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
In this study, the status of remote sensing applications has been assessed using as criteria 
both the amount and nature of utilised remote sensing products and the number of areas of such 
applications. The assessment of areas of remote sensing applications has been based on the araly- 
sis of available data on 47 Developing Countries, made up of 34 (or 68 per cent) of the Countries 
in Africa, 7 Countries in Asia and 6 Countries in South America, while the assessment of amount 
and nature of utilised remote sensing products has been based on the demand for Landsat pro- 
ducts by Developing Countries on a global basis, noting that, for the period under consideration, 
Landsat products were almost the only Satellite remote sensing products commercially available.